Method of warp knitting



Oct. 28, 1969 K. FRA-NK 3, ,64

METHOD OF WARP KNITTING Original Filed Dec. 1, 1965 United States Patent 3,474,644 METHOD OF WARP KNITTING Karl Frank, Inga Torp, Inga, Finland Continuation of application Ser. No. 510,858, Dec. 1, 1965. This application Sept. 6, 1968, Ser. No. 758,159 Claims priority, application Finland, Dec. 11, 1964, 2,624/64 Int. Cl. D04b 23/00 US. Cl. 66-86 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A warp knitted fabn'c constituted of synthetic yarns and yarns of high moisture absorption capacity forming a three-layer structure in which the yarn with high moisture absorption capacity is laid in by the back guide bar of a needle warp knitting machine without making stitches whereby the yarn layer with high moisture absorption capacity lies loosely and completely between two synthetic yarn layers.

This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 510,858, filed Dec. 1, 1965.

The present invention relates to warp knitted fabric especially for shirts, underclothing and similar items.

Shirts and underclothing manufactured of synthetic fiber, such as polyamide fabric, have two principal disadvantages, viz. they are unpleasant to wear by reason of the poor ability of the material to absorb perspiration, and they rapidly become dirty as a result of the strong electrostatic charge in the material which attracts dirt and particles of dust.

To reduce the drawbacks of pure polyamide warp knitted fabric, there already exists knowledge of the use of two layer polyamide-silk fabric for shirts and underclothing, in which the silk constitutes a combining component in the warp knitted fabric structure. Nevertheless, it has been established that such a fabric only in part reduces these drawbacks, and that the different shrinkage characteristics of the two layers are accompanied by the formation of wrinkles. In addition, the durability of such a knitted fabric is reduced by the exposure of the artificial silk yarn to wear and to cutting, with consequent deterioration of the fabric.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned disadvantages, and the warp knitted fabric produced by the invention is principally characterized by its consisting of fibers of high moisture absorption capacity in a three-layer composition, such that the fiber layer of high moisture absorption capacity lies completely between two synthetic fiber layers.

Lengthy experiments have shown that a combination of a synthetic fiber, e.g., a polyamide fi'ber, and a fiber of high moisture absorption capacity, e.g. rayon, combined in stated proportions in a special warp knitted structure, gives a fabric with essentially improved moisture absorption capacity, making a garment manufactured from this fabric pleasant to wear. The static charge in fabrics manufactured in accordance with the invention, furthermore, is only one-half of that generated in pure polyamide fabric, by reason of the high moisture absorption capacity. The low static charge is unchanged during the life of the fabric, as this is dependent upon a normal characteristic of the material used, instead of upon a treatment of the fabric with certain chemicals which disappear after the goods have been laundered a few times. As a result of the low charge, particles of dust and dirt are attracted to an insignificant extent, and the garment becomes dirty appreciably more slowly than does a pure polyamide garment.

Experiments carried out have shown that the moisture absorption capacity of the warp knitted fabric made in accordance with the invention is at least 5.86.2%, that is to say 50% greater than the moisture absorption capacity of a pure polyamide fabric, which is 3.64.0% as a maximum. This results from the high moisture absorption capacity of 13.5% for silk against, for example, 8% for pure cotton. The consequence hereof is that also the moisture transmission ability is considerably improved by the material produced according to the invention as compared to conventional nylon, perlon and the like fabrics. Experiments have shown that in conventional material, if said ability is designated roughly by the number 9 for comparison purposes, the fabric according to the invention gives the number 23. This shows that the moisture transmission capacity, i.e., the respiration ability of the fabric according to the invention is roughly 2.5 times greater than goods made of ordinary nylon, perlon and other known synthetic fibers.

The special three-layer structure is suitably achieved by introducing in a 3-bar warp knitting machine the moisture-absorbing yarn by means of blind-laying, without making stitches by the back guide bar in normal warp knitted structures for shirt and underclothing fabrics. In this structure, the moisture absorbing yarn is an inlay or filler yarn without any binding purpose and is protected on either side by a layer of synthetic fiber. This means also that the rayon yarn lies as an intermediate layer in the three-layered material, and in no way affects shrinkage. Neither can there occur the typical cutting-01f of rayon threads, which becomes apparent in known combinations. Both the face and the back of the fabric accordingly consist of hard-wearing and nearly shrinkfree polyamide fiber, and thus the material can be made up on both the face and the back. Wear tests (abrasion tests) have shown that the tear strength of this type of fabric is just as good as that of pure polyamide fabrics.

Warp knit fabric, in accordance with the invention can be manufactured on a usual bearded needle warp knitting machine with 3 (or more) guide bars, by the use of for example, 40 den rayon yarn in the back guide bar, and 40 den polyamide yarn in the middle and front guide bar characterized by the following link pattern for the guide bars, as illustrated in the attached drawing, wherein:

FIGS. 1-6 diagrammatically show various patterns for three layer structures.

PATTERNS (a) Shirt fabric (FIG. 1)

Feed: 10:24:18

Back guide bar (I), 3 -3/1-1 rayon yarn Middle guide bar (II), 2-3/1-0 polyamide yarn Front guide bar (III), 2-1/2-3 polyamide yarn Elastic fabric for underclothing (FIG. 2) Feed: 10:18:24-

Back guide bar (I), 3-3/1-1 rayon yarn Middle guide bar (II), 23/21 polyamide yarn Front guide bar (III), l-0/2-3 polyamide yarn To increase the proportion of rayon, the structure can be divided up as follows:

(c) Shirt fabric (FIG. 3)

Back guide bar (I), 3-3/00 rayon yarn Middle guide bar (II), 2-3/1-0 polyamide yarn Front guide bar (III), 2-1/2-3 polyamide yarn (d) Underclothing fabric (FIG. 4)

Back guide bar (I), 3-3/00 rayon yarn Middle guide bar (II), 2-3/2-1 polyamide yarn Front guide bar (III), 1-0/2-3 polyamide yarn Heavier and more elastic goods can be obtained by a corresponding broadening of the structure in accordance with the following:

(e) Shirt fabric (FIG. 5)

Back guide bar (I), 4-4/1-1 rayon yarn Middle guide bar (II), 3-4/10 polyamide yarn Front guide bar (III), 3-2/2-3 polyamide yarn (f) (FIG. 6)

Back guide bar (I), 4-4/2-2 rayon yarn Middle guide bar (II), 34/ 1-0 polyamide yarn Front guide bar (III), 3-2/2-3 polyarnide yarn I claim: 1. A method of knitting a three-layer warp fabric on a warp knitting machine having a bed of needles and at least three guide bars, a front, middle, and back guide bars, said front and middle bars being threaded with synthetic yarns of lower-moisture absorption capacity than the back bar which is threaded with yarns of high moisture absorption capacity comprising: forming a top layer and a bottom layer of knitted stitches with said front and middle guide bars having said yarns of lower moisture absorption capacity, and laying in said yarn of higher moisture absorption capacity over 2-3 needles with the back guide bar between said knitted stitches of said top and bottom layers of said synthetic yarns to form a middle layer without stitches.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,186,507 6/1916 Branson 66193 1,513,066 10/1954 Quick 66-202 1,666,638 4/1928 :Bennett 66195 2,140,696 11/ 1938 Ferri 66-195 2,338,945 l/l944 Just et al. 66-195 2,433,279 12/1947 Johnson 66195 2,535,376 12/1950 Thompson 66197 XR 2,936,513 5/1960 Ibach 66196 3,027,738 4/1962 Turton 66--195 3,250,095 5/ 1966 Bird 66-194 XR FOREIGN PATENTS 530,665 8/ 1954 Belgium. 455,574 3/ 1949 Canada.

71,648 10/1950 Denmark. 539,865 2/ 1956 Italy. 301,202 12/1963 Netherlands.

OTHER REFERENCES Paling, D. F., Warp Knitting Technology, Harlequin Press, London, 1952, lst ed., pp. 1, 92, 95, TS 149OP2, (copy in Group 364).

RONALD FELDBAUM, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 66-195. 202 

